Hypothetical: Reinhart or Ekblad?

[bubbsy]

you can't use oilers as an example. they are dumb.....

getting a franchise winger is great, but using 2 of your first round picks on them, especially when it's not clear that they are far and beyond the obvious choice is bad execution.

if the oilers took the #1 Center in each of their drafts:
1) Seguin
2) RNH
3) Galchenyuk

that would be SO much better than what they have today. Heck, i'd argue the 1 center they did get, is likely not going to be as strong a #1 center as the ones they didn't pick.

flames fans are painfully aware that getting elite centers is perhaps the HARDEST hole to fill on a roster in the NHL. Not using their top picks during this rebuild when they will actually be picking high would be sad.

[FakenHaken]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

you can't use oilers as an example. they are dumb.....

getting a franchise winger is great, but using 2 of your first round picks on them, especially when it's not clear that they are far and beyond the obvious choice is bad execution.

if the oilers took the #1 Center in each of their drafts:
1) Seguin
2) RNH
3) Galchenyuk

that would be SO much better than what they have today. Heck, i'd argue the 1 center they did get, is likely not going to be as strong a #1 center as the ones they didn't pick.

flames fans are painfully aware that getting elite centers is perhaps the HARDEST hole to fill on a roster in the NHL. Not using their top picks during this rebuild when they will actually be picking high would be sad.

The other argument for the center if they are in fact the right choice is you can always convert them to a wing very easy. Same problem Team Canada has if you can even call that a problem.

With that being said, I can see the Flames going with a very talented defensemen.

[Gord Wappel]

So if we win too many games...
We pick 3rd, 4th or 5th
Ekblad & Reinhart off table.
Is the second best defence-man in draft worth getting excited about ?

[herashak]

Originally Posted by Gord Wappel

So if we win too many games...
We pick 3rd, 4th or 5th
Ekblad & Reinhart off table.
Is the second best defence-man in draft worth getting excited about ?

Fleury or mckeown as the next best d i think. Rather have dal colle

[AC]

Originally Posted by N-E-B

I find it interesting you don't consider guys like Jovanovski and Bouwmeester stars... I know they might not be Norris candidates but I'd take them on my team any day (Jovo not so much anymore). Also, most of the guys who aren't "stars" are still very solid NHL defenseman that I'd love to have on my team. Ekblad is going to be really good. Reinhart will be too, so I wouldn't complain if we took him, but if I was GM, I'd take Ekblad.

Yeah, I may be too biased against Bouwmeester and Jovanovski, haha. Change the designation to super-stars then. 3 superstars over that time, and 2 stars.

Regardless, I'll look into the same analysis for forwards, but I bet the odds are much worse for defencemen still.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by N-E-B

I find it interesting you don't consider guys like Jovanovski and Bouwmeester stars...

They weren't exactly turds, but they were clearly not the best picks of the draft. Daniel Alfredsson, Ryan Smith, Patrick Elias, Milan Hejduk, were all picked after Jovanovski. The best D-man in Bouwmeesters year wasn't even picked in the first round (Duncan Keith - 54th).

With most 1 Dman, it's not that they are bad....it's just that in the long-run there are almost always better players picked after them. When it comes to Forwards (especially Centers) that's much rarer of a case. If you're the type of guy who subscribes to the "Best Player Available" philosophy, history has shown over the last few decades that picking the Dman is never the way to go when you have the 1st overall pick.

[PeteMoss]

The Oilers can't be used mainly because their problem is the fact that the rest of the team is horrible. Their top picks aren't bad for what was available... but you actually need to fill the rest of the roster with NHL players.

[Johnny Rotten]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Nobody knows. We still don't know if MacKinnon is better than Jones after the draft.

I get what you're saying, but I know Burke has always been adamant (at least if you can believe by what he has said) in picking the best player, at least who he thinks is the best player at the time. He's not a fan of picking for need.

If the Flames pick first overall, and it's a toss-up between Ekblad, Reinhart, or someone else who may prove himself worthy, then I would not be upset if they traded down and acquired another pick or two, and still get a/the player they really want.

[bubbsy]

i would love to see the first forward and first defenceman picked in each draft where both are selected in the top 3, and play the "which would you have picked" game.

screw it, let's see how this goes if we go back about 10 years:
2013: Mackinnon(1) / Jones(4th) -> too soon
2012: Yakupov(1) / Murray(2nd) -> too soon
2011: Hopkins(1) / Larsson(4th) -> forward
2010: Hall(1) / Gudrabson(3) -> forward
2009: Tavares(1) / Hedman(2) -> forward
2008: Stamkos(1) / Doughty(2)... (interesting, Bogosian(3), Pietrangelo(4), Schenn(5)) -> forward, but damn it's close. great year for dmen.
2007: P.Kane(1) / Hickey(4) -> forward
2006: E. Johnson(1) / J.Staal(2)... (interesting, Toews(3)) -> forward
2005: Crosby(1) / J.Johnson(3) -> forward
2004: Oveckin(1) / Barker(3) -> forward
2003 ignored as that draft was just unreal......

not sure if this really means anything, as it's a very limited analysis in longevity or depth into the draft (ie. would love to analyze all the top F vs top C drafted up)... but in any case, i think your just playing the odds better by going for the concensus top forwards rather than dmen.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

2008: Stamkos(1) / Doughty(2)... (interesting, Bogosian(3), Pietrangelo(4), Schenn(5)) -> forward, but damn it's close. great year for dmen.

And the best Dmen of them all might be Erik Karlsson (15)!

I'd still pick Stamkos over any of them though, but yeah, great year for Dmen. If only they were all so predictably good.

[OutOfTheCube]

Calgary should take Ekblad. They lack high end prospects on the back end.

Buffalo will take Reinhart. After last year's big mean nasty d-men first round, we need some offensive firepower.

[FakenHaken]

Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube

Calgary should take Ekblad. They lack high end prospects on the back end.

Buffalo will take Reinhart. After last year's big mean nasty d-men first round, we need some offensive firepower.

I'm positive you may not have meant it this way..... but I'm pretty sure Burke, and Feaster will put a weighting of 0% in what Buffalo's needs are if we happen to draft ahead of Buffalo. Therefore selecting Ekblad as a result of Buffalo's needs or anyone's needs other than their own.

[OutOfTheCube]

Originally Posted by FakenHaken

I'm positive you may not have meant it this way..... but I'm pretty sure Burke, and Feaster will put a weighting of 0% in what Buffalo's needs are if we happen to draft ahead of Buffalo. Therefore selecting Ekblad as a result of Buffalo's needs or anyone's needs other than their own.

Haha I didn't mean it that way.

Phrased better: Buffalo will be finishing last. If we win the lottery, I think we'll draft Reinhart. Thus if Calgary finishes 29th and Buffalo picks first, I think they'd still get Ekblad.

If Calgary wins the lottery, I think they'll draft Ekblad. Then we'll still take Reinhart.

[Ark2]

I would go with Ekblad. True, #1 centre is the most important position in the game, and while I like Monahan, I am not sure if he is that elite first line centre that we need. However, this team is probably going to be just as bad, if not worse next season, and it sounds like there will be some decent centres (aside from just McDavid) in 2015. Reinhart doesn't sound like he has the makings of a superstar and while I am sure that he will develop into a good player, I would love for us to swing for the fences these next two drafts.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Tough question, but Reinhart. Ekblad is a monster, but that kind of scares me. He's matured really early and has had that advantage his whole life. Will he be able to handle just being a big guy in a league full of big guys? Reinhart has been on the radar for three years now and I think you go with the id who has maintained that status. Also, as others have pointed out, how many number one centers have been traded in the past 20 years and how many top pair defensemen have been traded? You can trade for defense. Trading for that top guy in the middle is almost unheard of.

[Parallex]

Originally Posted by Gord Wappel

So if we win too many games...
We pick 3rd, 4th or 5th
Ekblad & Reinhart off table.
Is the second best defence-man in draft worth getting excited about ?

If we pick 3rd, 4th, or 5th we won't be taking the second best defenceman. Fleury and Mckeown from what I've seen are generally considered borderline top 10... I wouldn't drop that far on the basis of organizational need.

I figure we'll be taking Nylander or Bennett if we're in one of those those slots. I'd say Dal colle but he's been moved to LW, we're overflowing with young LW and if he isn't cutting it at C in the CHL I doubt he could cut it at C in the NHL.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube

Haha I didn't mean it that way.

Phrased better: Buffalo will be finishing last. If we win the lottery, I think we'll draft Reinhart. Thus if Calgary finishes 29th and Buffalo picks first, I think they'd still get Ekblad.

If Calgary wins the lottery, I think they'll draft Ekblad. Then we'll still take Reinhart.

If Calgary wins the lottery they should play Buffalo hard. Tell them they are going to take Reinhart and ask what Buffalo would give up to trade up. They might be able to extort another pick or prospect out of the mix for Buffalo to get the guy they want and Calgary get the guy they were going after all the time. Of course, this all doesn't matter. The Oilers are winning the lottery and drafting an unprecedented fourth top pick in five years!

[Vinny01]

If we can get Ekblad and McDavid in the next 2 drafts I honestly think we win the cup by 2020 barring major injuries. Lots of character guys in the system and having a prospect like Monahan be your #2 C would be a massive luxury

[djsFlames]

Ekblad and McDavid would be the best possible combination over the next 2 drafts, I can tell you that much. I think those two would be our quickest route to being competitive again as well. But that would require some serious luck (and a whole lot of suckage).

[shogged]

If we win the lottery, I would see if the second pick wanted to trade up and take Reinhart. Maybe end up with ekblad and an asset as a result.